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Girls highschool swimming is again in movement and there are a selection of groups within the Metro Detroit space seeking to make waves this season.
Here are 5 groups to control for all through the 2026 season.
Ann Arbor Pioneer
In the Division 1 scene, Pioneer is coming off of six straight state titles and is as soon as extra the state’s preseason No. 1 group.
The group is led by head coach Stefanie Kerska, who has been one of many key figures in establishing this successful tradition. Kerska talked about, nonetheless, that the Pioneer commonplace goes unsaid amongst the group.
“It’s nothing that is said,” Kerska mentioned. “They walk into our facility and they see the trophies, they see the banners and they watch the upperclassmen and how they operate. Then they go ahead and do the things that those upperclassmen are doing and it just sort of works itself out. We never talk about winning a championship during the season, we talk about the things that it’s going to take.”
Pioneer has 5 swimmers ranked among the many high 10 within the state, so the expertise is below no debate.
Sophomore Kia Alert (4) together with seniors Cecilia Walusek (3) and Suryn Lee (2) spotlight this slew of superstars.
“The offseason is what separates them from a lot of the field,” Kerska mentioned. “They take the time that they’re not in season as incredibly valuable time to get themselves to be better athletes and to compete at the highest level.”
Alert set the state report for freshmen within the 50-yard freestyle competitors, with a time of twenty-two.91 seconds. Walusek and Lee are additionally no strangers to the highest stage with quite a lot of state title wins of their very own.
Birmingham Seaholm
Seaholm is getting into the season because the second-ranked group in Division 2 after ending third in final 12 months’s championship meet.
Head coach Karl Hodgson emphasised that the objective is especially to develop, which ought to yield outcomes.
“One goal is to win a state championship, but if we can develop a team to where we’re in the top five, then we have a shot at a championship,” Hodgson mentioned. “So that’s sort of our outlook every year. It’s to be in the upper echelon of teams in the state.”
Hodgson talked about that the group has a mixture of expertise and a centered mindset.
“They’re hard-working,” Hodgson mentioned. “That’s a huge point in coaching, and that’s half the battle, getting a group that you like to work with or are willing to listen and work with you. They’re also very talented. They got their eye at the prize, you know, whether we get there or not, who knows, but that’s their goal as well and it certainly helps and makes the season a lot more enjoyable.”
Sophomores Payton Garn and Noelle Schneider every sit throughout the high 25 within the state and are key figures on this 12 months’s group. Hodgson mentioned Garn is a uncommon expertise who is likely one of the hardest working youngsters he’s ever coached with a flexible capability to swim in any competitors. Schneider was additionally described as distinctive, particularly within the freestyle class.
Grosse Pointe South
Head coach John Fodell has led Grosse Pointe South to back-to-back runner-up finishes in Division 2, and the squad is getting into the 2026 season because the third-ranked group within the division.
The group is coming into the season with a good little bit of roster turnaround, shedding two All-Americans whereas including a brand new freshmen group.
“We are kind of rejudging the talent,” Fodell mentioned. “We’re starting to figure out where the pieces go for the state meet when it comes to it. But the main focus is going to be the state meet and how we perform at it. We definitely have some really, really strong returning swimmers, but the loss of a good bit of points from our seniors is just a little bit of a hole to get back to where we were.”
The freshman class has been an encouraging sight for South regardless of the turnover, as Fodell mentioned the group appears to be like promising with high-scoring potential.
Sophomores Caroline Bryan and Quinn Ryan are a part of the important thing returning bunch from final 12 months’s runner-up squad, every sitting throughout the high 50 swimmers within the state. Bryan had two first-place finishes ultimately 12 months’s state meet whereas Ryan gathered considered one of her personal.
Kassiani Norris, Amelia MacGillis and Lydia Prysak are the senior captains for the group, and Fodell mentioned they’ve been strongly pushing the group to compete as soon as extra at a excessive degree.
Northville
Northville completed in third place on the Division 1 state meet final 12 months behind Pioneer and Jenison, and the group is in the identical spot within the preseason rankings.
Under head coach Rich Bennetts, Northville’s swimmers discovered themselves competing on the high degree in almost each occasion in final 12 months’s title meet however couldn’t land any high finishes to beat Pioneer.
Northville misplaced some robust factors from final 12 months, however has a returning senior class that’s greater than able to making up for it. Rachel King and Rachel Mowers are seniors who competed in occasions in final 12 months’s state meet with quite a lot of top-five finishes.
Juniors Kathryn Lauster (14) and Veronica Lindberg (56) additionally spotlight the expertise on the group, each seeded within the high 60 swimmers within the state.
Ann Arbor Greenhills
Greenhills comes into the season ranked sixth in Division 2 after a top-10 end in final 12 months’s state finals meet and is returning some key swimmers from that squad.
Head coach Ethan Drouillard spoke extremely of this returning group and talked about the way it could possibly be a key facet of the group’s enchancment going into this 12 months.
“We had all of our kids that swam at the state meet except for one relay-only swimmer come back this year,” Drouillard mentioned. “We already knew to take a step up from what we did last year. Let’s try to move it up and see if we can be top four and bring home a trophy.”
After a strong dual-meet season Drouillard wished to up the competitors heading into this 12 months, including the likes of South Lyon East, Canton, Dexter and Ann Arbor Skyline to the dual-meet schedule this season.
“We’re just trying to set the bar and get them going with trying to still have a winning record but being more competitive and trying to build off of last year with us being able to bring back the bulk of our roster.”
Junior Addi Gregg is a key returner, ranked within the high 30 swimmers whereas already having state-level expertise. Junior Ryen Mahoney and senior Payton Mathis additionally shall be massive items, with the latter two working as captains.
Doug Doty is a contract author.
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https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/high-school/2026/09/22/here-are-five-metro-detroit-girls-swimming-teams-to-watch-this-season/91793968007/
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